Posts byNadia Oxford

The most recent update for EA’s popular city builder lets you build residential areas based on Japanese landmarks and architecture, including Tokyo landmark Himeji Castle. The update also introduces an international airport as well as other small adjustments.

SimCity BuildIt Mayors can now bring their cities to life with all-new features, including an incredible International Airport as well as a new type of Residential Zone we call Tokyo Town. This update also includes a much improved Global Trading HQ based on player feedback.

The development of Angry Birds Transformers wasn’t a simple matter of mashing together the hit properties from Rovio and Hasbro. Gamezebo’s Nick Tylwalk talks to the developers about what went wrong, and what went right.

Even adding a partner like Hasbro to the equation for the unlikely marriage of two powerful brands in Angry Birds Transformers doesn’t seem like it could take that much more effort, since it’s just another spoke in the mighty Angry Birds wheel.

Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment has no plans to slow down with the upcoming mobile release of Mortal Kombat X. The publisher has big plans for the platform in 2015, including games based on Game of Thrones.

“We’ve seen tremendous growth with our mobile business and expect to increase our market share by applying our best-in-class development, publishing and brand marketing to this impressive slate of games,” said David Haddad, exec VP and G.M. of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

Critically-acclaimed strategy RPG The Banner Saga is currently on sale at the App Store for an undetermined amount of time. Touch Tap Play!’s Francesco gives it a hearty recommendation.

The game published by Stoic can now be purchased on the App Store for $4.99 instead of the usual $9.99. This is an excellent price, considering how good the game is, so make sure to take advantage of this deal as soon as possible as it will not be available for much longer.

Pocket Gamer put together a list of large, open-world Android games that resemble Bethesda’s epic Skyrim in scope and gameplay. Chief amongst the recommendations is Ravensword: Shadowlands by Crescent Moon Games (which is also on iOS).

Ravensword: Shadowlands is without a doubt the closest you can get to having Skyrim on your phone.

There’s a huge world to explore, first and third person modes depending on your preference, and massive dinosaurs to take the place of them there dragons.

Buzz Aldrin’s Space Program Manager, a game about space exploration and the “Space Race” of the ’50s, is already a hit on Steam. Mobile ports are incoming, but the iOS version was rejected because astronaut Buzz Aldrin’s name is attached to the game – even though he had a hand in making it.

We know that Apple is touchy when it comes to real people, companies, and countries being depicted in games. The reason for this is revealed in its App Store guideline 14.1.

It reads: “Any App that is defamatory, offensive, mean-spirited, or likely to place the targeted individual or group in harm’s way will be rejected.”

Move over, Kim Kardashian. Socialite Paris Hilton is getting her own series of mobile games.

“Paris Hilton is one of the world’s most recognized names and we are thrilled to be able to collaborate with her on mobile gaming titles,” said Animoca Brands CEO Robby Yung. “With Paris’s eye for what’s hot in the latest trends, and our experience at making popular mobile games, we are confident that consumers around the world will be receptive to Paris Hilton mobile games and themes.”

Fighting game series BlazBlue is getting a mobile card-battling game called, appropriately, BlazBlue: Battle Cards. The first gameplay trailer is now available.

BlazBlue: Battle Cards will sport 9 different characters taken from the latest entry of the main series, BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma, now available on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita and launching soon as Blazblue: Chrono Phantasma Extend on PlayStation 4, with more characters coming after the game has been released.

The pixel-based roguelike RPG Pixel Heroes: Byte & Magic proved popular on Steam, and it’s coming to iOS and Android on March 5.

Pixel Heroes: Byte & Magic is a roguelike which features three campaigns to complete, five-thousand different weapons to collect, and thirteen dungeons which, of course, are capped by their challenging boss fights. The Bitfather also integrated a hero graveyard for player’s heroes who have perished thanks to game’s permadeath mechanics. Visiting each gravesite will present the stats of that particular adventurer, allowing the player to morbidly compare their failures together.

Popular tower defense title Plants vs Zombies 2 has a new pack of 16 levels that take place in the icy “Frostbite Caves.” And Peggle Blast has a new face: Buddy the Turtle, who’s capable of igniting rocket-powered peg explosions.

Confidence in Sega’s upcoming Sonic Runners hasn’t been high, but after spending some time with the endless runner (which is currently in soft launch), Gamezebo’s Jim Squires says the game is quite enjoyable.

Sonic Runners is the first SEGA game to arrive after their focus shift, and if our early impressions are anything to go by, things are looking up.

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years is a difficult game to recommend, partially because its existence is odd to begin with. The After Years is a direct sequel to Final Fantasy IV, an SNES classic that’s been ported more times than anyone can possibly count. There’s even been a mobile port of a Nintendo DS remake that utilizes 3D models in lieu of squat 16-bit sprites. (more…)

Ah, Perry the Platypus. How surprising you’d get your own endless 3D running game. And by “surprising” I mean “completely unsurprising.” After all, Disney’s semi-aquatic egg-laying mammal of action (made famous through the hit TV show Phineas and Ferb) is a popular little fellah. (more…)

You’ve been invited to attend a birthday party being thrown by worms. Worms, the famous artillery strategy game series, is turning 18 on Sunday. Team17 is celebrating the invertebrates’ passage into adulthood by putting Worms 3 on sale. (more…)

The term “meltdown” brings certain connotations of dread with it. If the core of a nuclear power plant suffers a meltdown, that’s your cue to make peace with whatever deity you worship before everything you love is engulfed in a radioactive fireball. If a two-year-old kicks off a meltdown in the middle of a grocery store, plug your ears ’cause it ain’t going to be pretty. But Meltdown by Bulkypix brightens things up by allowing you to associate the word with an intense, if familiar, dual-stick mobile shooting game. (more…)

Participants in the Hunger Games don’t last long unless they know a thing or two about running, so it makes sense Reliance Games is basing an endless running title around the hit teen franchise. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire – Panem Run is coming to mobile platforms around the same time The Hunger Games: Catching Fire film hits theaters. Run far. Run fast. Live. (more…)

It’s Wednesday in North America, but our time-travelling friends in New Zealand are currently experiencing Thursday. That means it’s time to peer into the future and get a look at the biggest game releases due to arrive worldwide at midnight. This week, a huge Zelda-inspired adventure makes landfall, a post-apocalyptic robot struggle gets a follow-up, and the art of stealth goes corporate. (more…)

It’s nice to get a free download code for an iOS game once in a while (and if you don’t have the best luck with freebies — psst, look over here). Good news: you might be able to score a download code a little more often thanks to reports stating Apple is now allowing developers to generate 100 promo codes for each app or game. (more…)

Here’s some news that ought to whip your blood into a froth of holiday buying frenzy (if your blood wasn’t in that state already): the iPad mini with Retina display is now on sale. Apple hadn’t previously announced a specific release date for the tablet, except to say we could expect it by November. (more…)

What are your plans this weekend? Whatever you’re doing, make time to hang out with Max McMann, the sleazy lawyer from Devil’s Attorney. Anders Hejdenberg’s turn-based law game (yes, that’s a thing) is free all weekend. No strings attached. Honest. (more…)

Japanese role-playing games (JRPGs) are alive and well on handheld and mobile platforms. In fact, if you’re a fan of airships, dragons, and teen heroes that fly said airships into dragons with seemingly little forethought, you’ll be excited to hear about Granblue Fantasy. (more…)

Good news: Now you don’t have to put aside your game of Angry Birds for anybody. Earlier this week, American Airlines and United announced that passengers are allowed to keep their electronic devices switched on during takeoff and landing. Perhaps our grandchildren will grow up ignorant of the term “Airplane Mode.” We can only pray. (more…)

Wake up, White Mages. Call on your courage, Summoners. Final Fantasy V for iOS is on sale for a limited time. If you’ve been waiting for the right moment to immerse yourself in this rich retro role-playing game, that moment is now. Hop to it (that’s a Dragoon joke). (more…)

Knack, a spikey-headed golem-creature, is coming to the PlayStation 4 in his own action-platforming game at the end of November. However, you don’t have to wait until the tail-end of the month to make friends with the little guy. Knack’s Quest, a free match-three puzzle game for iOS and Android, is up for grabs today. (more…)

It’s Wednesday. You’ve made it to the middle of the week. Have a gold star. No, tell you what, have a Death Star. Tiny Death Star from Disney and Nimblebit is just one of several big titles being released tonight. You can also expect Sid Meier’s Ace Patrol to fly onto the scene again, and Rayman is doing another run. Most of these titles are currently available on the New Zealand App Store, and are scheduled to go worldwide at 11 p.m. EST/8 p.m. Pacific. (more…)

If Katamari Damacy’s young prince is the Patron Saint of Rolling Stuff Up, then the boulder that features in Adult Swim’s Giant Boulder of Death is the Dark God of Tearing Stuff Down. Giant Boulder of Death is best described as an “endless rolling game”—or maybe even an “endless destruction game.” Either way, knocking cows, houses, and humans aside like so many bowling pins is as fun as it sounds. At least for a little while. (more…)

Ever been called up for jury duty? It was a drag, right? Well, it beats the alternative that’s laid out in Trial By Survival for iOS: Fourteen days in the wilderness with nothing but your wits and a crowbar. Oh, you have a chance to redeem yourself by surviving – if you make some in-app purchases. If you refrain from spending money in Trial By Survival, however, you stand a better chance of surviving a real-world zombie emergency after dousing yourself in barbecue sauce. (more…)

What does a screaming baby with cobra-quick reflexes eat? Answer: Whatever the heck he wants. The titular Baby Nom Nom wants to scarf down pounds and pounds of rice, and it’s your job to make sure he’s well-fed. Baby Nom Nom is an interesting physics-based maze game that won’t keep you busy for long, but you’ll be entertained for as long as you choose to keep feeding the machine. (more…)

With titles like Beat Sneak Bandit and Bumpy Road under its belt, Swedish game studio Simogo has rightfully earned its reputation for excellent—and unusual—mobile games. Simogo hopes to continue its legacy of bizarre excellence with Device 6, an adventure/thriller coming to iOS later this year. (more…)

Hot enough for ya? Guess what: It can get hotter. Think really hot. Like, “the fire of a thousand suns” hot. That’s what you’ll contend with in Nuclear Outrun, one of this week’s free-to-play recommendations. Also on the menu: Naughty vampire children that hate bed time, and monkeys at war. (more…)

The Prince has returned. Prince of Persia: The Shadow and the Flame is now available on the App Store and Google Play. It continues Ubisoft’s legacy of challenging platforming action and angry guys chasing after you with drawn swords. (more…)

The uncanny X-Men are nearing 50 years of age, and they’re still going strong even though they’re at a point in their lives when most of us start yelling at kids to get off our lawns. In fact, Marvel is teaming up with the massive social network GREE to bring out X-Men: Battle of the Atom, a mobile card-battle game for iOS and Android. (more…)

Across the rainbow bridge of Asgard where the booming heavens roar, you’ll (maybe) behold in breathless wonder a new Thor game by Gameloft. Thor: The Dark World – The Official Game is an iOS and Android title that’s set for release alongside the upcoming movie, Thor: The Dark World. Click the jump for a trailer.

The Oculus Rift virtual reality headset has generated a lot of positive buzz lately, but a bit of news that came in at the end of last week has generated some troubled discussion. According to Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe, the headset is primarily intended for PC and smartphones, but not consoles. (more…)

What is it about the summer heat that whets the human appetite for giant robots and aliens? Colossatron: Massive World Threat is a new action game from Halfbrick Studios (makers of Jetpack Joyride and Fruit Ninja) that challenges you to slither around a city as a robot serpent from outer space and cause as much damage as possible. (more…)

Firefly, a space-faring adventure written for television by Joss Whedon, died an early death in 2002, but it maintained a fierce cult following. Now the series is getting a second life with Firefly Online, a social RPG built around Whedon’s world. Announced at San Diego Comic Con 2013, Firefly Online puts you in the suspenders of a ship captain. (more…)

Here’s a scientific fact that may shock you: It turns out not every owner of an iOS device has played Infinity Blade II. Well, Chair Entertainment’s popular action-RPG built a new rung in its ladder to utter domination thanks to last week’s App Store birthday sale. Infinity Blade II was one of the games that dropped to “Free,” which secured 5.7 million new players within seven days. (more…)

Wheel of Fortune has been done on iOS. It has been so done. In fact, the classic game show’s iconic wheel has showed up on almost every conceivable console and computer since the beginning of time. Can we possibly squeeze any new surprises out of that flip-tile board? Turns out we can. Wheel of Fortune: Cubed adds a dash of Scrabble/Words With Friends to the rusty formula and gives it a shot of life. (more…)

Spiral Episode 1 is an odd animal. It’s technically impressive for an iOS game, but at the same time, it’ll remind you so very much of the RPGs you might have played on the PSOne in the mid-‘90s. That’s obviously not a bad thing for those of us that carry a torch for the likes of Final Fantasy VII and Wild ARMs, but others might not appreciate the somewhat cliché story and character development. And you’ll definitely snarl a little at the game’s touted one-touch control system, regardless of whether or not you’re a nostalgia freak. (more…)

In our heart of hearts, we knew the news was coming. Now it’s official. Infinity Blade: Dungeons for iOS has been officially canned by Epic Games. Its death certificate was delivered by Chair Entertainment co-founder Donald Mustard on episode 17 of the Epic Games podcast. (more…)

Apple and Amazon have settled their meandering legal argument over which company has the right to use the term “app.” Both companies can now use the term, which effectively averts the trial over the matter that was supposed to begin on August 19. (more…)

Square-Enix’s Deus Ex: The Fall is currently available worldwide on the App Store, even though the game’s official release date is July 11. Did someone at Square-Enix get a little gun shy and hit the button too early, or is this just a nice surprise? Either way, you can download it here for $6.99. (more…)

Three out of five young adults are not meeting their recommended annual dosage of giant robot media. Director Guillermo del Toro aims to fix that in a big way this summer with Pacific Rim, coming to theaters on July 12. But why should the fun stop on the silver screen? Pacific Rim – The Mobile Game lets you continue the battle against the Kaiju on iOS and Android. Manish Agarwal, the CEO of Reliance Entertainment, was kind enough to talk to Slide to Play about the upcoming action title. (more…)

What’s a bird’s greatest weapon? Is it its talons? Its beak? Its cache of salmonella bacteria? Its proud lineage that links it to the likes of the mighty deinonychus? No. A bird’s greatest weapon is its feathers, or at least that’s the impression we get in the recent update for the classic Angry Birds. Click the jump for an animated trailer. (more…)

Happy Birthday, App Store. Apple’s application store turns five on July 10, and it looks like we’re celebrating with a bunch of free games. Great free games. Every one, in fact, received a Must Have review from Slide To Play. Read on for the list. (more…)

It’s not often we get to say, “Man, I can’t wait for putrefying human corpses to walk into my life,” but here we are. The Walking Dead: 400 Days for iOS finally has a release date, and it’s sooner than you think. Board up your windows in time for July 11. They’ve also released a new launch trailer, which you can watch below. (more…)

Here’s a mystery for the ages: What manner of woman did the mild Professor Hershel Layton mate with in order to produce the wild-haired Alfendi Layton? More importantly, is the lad worthy of carrying his father’s legacy on his spindly shoulders? After all, few puzzle game series are as beloved as the Professor Layton games for the Nintendo DS and 3DS. Happily, Level-5 seems to realize as much, which is probably why Layton Brothers Mystery Room is its own game—and an engaging one, at that. (more…)

Imagine a Legend of Zelda game with a dungeon that you can only access if you push a hapless father into a whirlpool and then jump into the bloodied vortex. That’s Anodyne. Already a hit on Steam, Anodyne Mobile is an iOS adaptation of an indie adventure RPG that some fans suggest rivals the SNES’ hallowed A Link to the Past. It doesn’t come close—few games do—but there’s still a compelling and mysterious adventure to be had here, though slippery controls might lead you to check out of this world of dreams prematurely. (more…)